An architectural system study of the complete ESTRACK uplink chain is required to assess the impact to our systems of such new scenarios.On-board applications tend to require larger volume uplinks than in the past. Today's spacecraft may store much more data including software for Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), programmable ASICs or applicationsthat occasionally will have to be uplinked due to reprogramming. The trend towards increased use of selective repeat protocols on the uplink puts greater demands on uplink throughput. Higher rate downlink missions using selectiverepeat ARQ may require additional/faster acknowledgements for reliable uplink in case of file transfers. A typical example for this scenario would be robotic missions using CFDP in the TM downlink.On the other hand, Deep Space missions typically operate with large margins (at least 3 dB) on the uplink in order to ensure a robust communications link to the spacecraft. This large margin may be translated into greater uplink throughput, if that available coding gain can be harvested. Moreover, better coding gains would aid spacecraft mass constraints by reducing the size/mass of spacecraft receiving antennas as well as the higher rates would improve uplink timing.The study shall first consider the application profiles discussed within the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) along with its ad-hoc proposed solutions. The currently proposed CCSDS application profiles are the following:A- Emergency (unmanned)B- CommandC- File UploadD- Human supportE- Emergency manned (little studies)Starting from the new coding schemes (and corresponding figures of merit), the study shall discuss and analyse in detail the impact of such solutions to the ground system and subsystems. The study shall, at least, assess the impact on the TCprotocol layers, as well as on the Ground Segment including interactions between Stations and the MCS. Additional aspects such as the retaining of the support to the current TC link service, multiple commanding channels through Multiple Spacecraft per Aperture (MSPA) techniques, TC coding at the Ground Station,configurability/flexibility of the TC parameters will have to be addressed, too.Procurement Policy C1 : Activities in open competition limited to the-non-Large-System Integrators.

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